Before the Horns - A Bob Velseb Story

Chapter 13

Bob had just finished wiping down the counters when Sarah shuffled in late, as she had done for the last week or so. Well, late for Sarah's standards. 7:50 wasn't exactly late, in fact if Bob made it in that early he usually praised himself for it. Sarah tended to get to the store 30 minutes or so before opening, opting to shiver outside until Bob eventually rolled around.

Bob yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Mornin' Miss Sarah."

"Good morning Bob," she replied flatly as always, watching her manager slump forward onto the counter sleepily.

"Don't mind me today Sarah, I didn't get much sleep as I normally would last night. Say, did ya ever make it to the house?" he asked, running a hand over his stubbly face, trying to wake up a little more.

"I did," Sarah replied shortly. She stepped past him and into the stock room to get her apron on.

"Well? What'd ya think? Ya have fun?" He prodded, standing back up as she reentered the main portion of Boys & Grills. 

"It was impressive." she noted.

Bob furrowed his brows worriedly. "Everything alright Sarah? You seem a bit less talkative today," he pointed out. He started to go put a hand on her shoulder, but stopped remembering she wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact.

She shrugged. "Just tired I guess. I stayed up late to go to the haunted house."

Bob nodded understanding. "Yeah, scarin' and gettin' scared really takes it outta ya." he reassured her, "It may be a long day with us so tired. Well, while we wait for the crowd, can I ask how the experience went?"

Sarah groaned internally, too tired for his persistent social interaction. However, it was more important than ever that she stayed on his good side. "I don't get scared easily. I went in with a group as mandatory. The mandate is a little silly in my opinion though because the actors can separate you whenever they want. Some masked man came from the wardrobe and pulled me to the kitchen. I thought the whole place was cheesy until that room. It was relatively frightening. I don't get scared easy at corny haunted houses like that, but it was well executed. Kudos to your performance, you did well."

"That was you?!" Bob exclaimed, "Everything still good between us? You seemed pretty startled in that kitchen. Didn't mean to scare ya too bad, it's hard to see faces in that dark room," he explained, hoping to patch any damages their friendship may have taken.

Sarah shook her head reassuringly, "No, truly it's alright. I enjoyed it. It was an eye opening experience. That reminds me, I have a question to ask you. Would you-" Sarah was cut off by someone walking in the door. It was 8:10, and they were the first customer of the day.

Bob gave her a smile. "You can ask at lunch alright? Don't want to go losin' customers." 

Sarah nodded, internally yelling at herself for not asking sooner. She returned to her post, getting ready for a hard day, mentally going over how she'd ask Bob the oh so important question Mr. Carter insisted she'd asked from the start.

The day felt so much longer than every other day to the two, but got a little easier for Bob when the boys strolled into the butcher shop around noon for lunch. John seemed to walk with a purpose today. Jack followed him in, wearing a smile just like always. John insisted they sit down right away, but Jack convinced him to just order already. John rolled his eyes at his taller friend but did as told reluctantly. After placing their orders they plopped down in their usual seats. 

"Afternoon Bob. How about that mansion experience last night? It was incredible!" Jack started enthusiastically. John started to say something but Jack cut him off awaiting Bob's response.

"Well, I had a lot of fun, thanks for askin'!" Bob chuckled, "It's nice gettin' to be the person scarin' for once. 'Fraid last night's the only night I get to do though. Yeah it's fun, but it does take a lot outta a guy. Plus I still got work goin' on every day other than Sundays."

Jack rolled his eyes, already knowing what was next. John's face lit up as he urged, "Well, I'd be happy to work around the place if you're needing some extra help. I noticed things have been easier for you and her, but you both still seem a little bogged down. Maybe you could use some extra hands?"

Bob leaned forward on the counter a moment, contemplating the suggestion. He looked over the little store and caught a glance from Sarah. She was staring again. Thinking about it though, they were both still pretty busy. It was better than when it was just him, but still pretty bustling. Running a whole business on one employee was difficult. Two was easier, but still not much better. Another set of hands really would be a big help. Plus it'd be nice to have someone who actually spoke back to a guy. Sarah was good company, but she didn't talk much and always seemed to be doing her own thing or thinking about something else. There was always something going on in that noggin of hers, and it was hard to socialize when she was already occupied with herself.

Setting the rag down on the counter, Bob shrugged and replied, "Another set of hands doesn't sound so bad. Only problem is you've got school. That'll be hard for ya to work in, don't'cha think?"

"We could work out a schedule," John countered, "I could work full on Saturdays and half days on school days. That's what most of the other kids at school do."

Bob scratched his mutton chops, trying to figure out how that would work. "So like Monday ya come work after school till closin', Tuesday ya got off, Wednesday ya come in again, and so on?" he asked, formulating an idea of what John meant.

"Exactly! Sure, it's not a constant help, but it'll make things easier when I'm here. Plus I'd be glad to work full days on Saturday to help unload the delivery trucks." John explained.

Bob looked over at Sarah, who was staring once again. Not at Bob but at John. "I don't think Sarah will mind much. She keeps to herself for the most part anyway, but I still think I should ask." Bob began, "She's helped me out a lot 'round the place, so I think it may be a good idea I take it up with her as well. I'll get back to you as soon as we decide though, alright?"

John nodded, glancing over at Sarah. For a split second, he caught her watching Bob, Jack, and himself, but she looked away after only a moment of eye contact. John furrowed his eyebrows in worry, but agreed to Bob's terms. If he wanted this job he needed to make sure he stayed on both of the Boys & Grills employees good sides. 

If it was up to Sarah if he were to be hired or not, he'd better get some suck up points going for himself. Once the boys had eaten, John made a point of leaving a twenty in the tip jar when Sarah could see. 

He really hoped the stone faced woman took a liking to him. It was vital if he wanted to get to the bottom of her odd nature.